The Fascist Grand Council voted to approve Benito Mussolini's motion to place all the Fascists into a national militia, categorizing them as volunteers, so they didn't have to be paid. That gave the Italian army a 500,000 men reserve, albeit not one trained as a fighting military, which was officially called the Voluntary Militia for National Security (IMilizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale) and unofficially the "black shirts" for their attire.
Symbol of the black shirts. By Arturolorioli - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46385297
The militia contributed over 300,000 men to the Italian forces during World War Two, and its hard-line elements were sent to Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The movement was the partial inspiration for many other fascists paramilitary organizations of the time, although in much of Europe military wings of political parties were already common.
Flag of the Black Shirts, By RootOfAllLight - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114802748
Just the other day I ran this item, which these events cause me to recall:
It's interesting how authoritarian movements acquire their own militias, which glorify supposed martial values to the extreme. Now, for the first time since the Civil War, the US finds itself, effectively, with Black Shirts.
Beverly Hills voted not to be annexed by Los Angeles and remain an independent municipality.
